High on MSD

It did not come as a shock , knowing Him I was surely expecting this after Sydney. I was kind of prepared for it. The Man for whom Gary once said he will go to war with Him on his side would not be seen in cricket whites again. For many it will be a great news, and why shouldn’t it be . After all they knew much more than him about the field placements. His ideas were plain stupid they thought. Who keeps a leg slip for a leg-spinner, why is that third man required or why not go for the kill, these people knew all. And these were the same people who said same thing about Ganguly when he was about to be thrown out of the team and then started singing praises about him saying how good a captain Ganguly was and how bad He is.  The easiest thing about being a critic is their ability to find problems at all the things which are in focus . And when it is out of focus the same thing is the perfect picture.

Let them be happy, let them question Him why abandon the ship in the middle and not wait for one more test. Let them tell that ache din for Indian cricket in test is about to come with Virat at the Helm. He would not care. Actually He has never cared, atleast that’s what it  has seemed like all these days. Well of course, For Him and all of his white beard(which they think is because of the bright sunny days spent on the field letting the game drift , and surrendering abjectly when travelling overseas)  the pressure is always on the other person and not on Him.

Few years back I wrote a blog about what makes me happy after India’s win in T20 semi finals in 2007. It was India’s victories in the fields of cricket, it still makes me happy. But if there is something that brings tears in my eyes then it is that six which  Gavaskar would like to see just before he dies. I have seen it many times, but each time I see it I relive those moments. Each time I see it I choke. 2011 WC was special, and like Sachin says that the 34000 runs do not matter, 100 centuries do not matter but it’s the World Cup that he had dreamt all his life,  it was dream come true for a stupid cricket lover like me and for the every other person who wakes up at 5 in the cold winter mornings when India goes to Australia. So obviously the Man who hit that six will always be extra special. I’m not his die-hard Fan, I have liked Him as much as I have liked Sachin , the man who gave us Hope or Sehwag  the man who taught us Fearlessness or Rahul who taught us Patience or Ganguly who taught us how to lead men. He didn’t teach us anything, he just practiced it. As long as He was there on the crease there was hope, He wasn’t afraid of anything, stayed patient ,didn’t give  up till the last ball was bowled ,how to lead from front and be an example for others. Someone said He is like the engineering student who enjoys all through the semester, studies on the last day before the exam and still tops it.

I started watching cricket when Sachin had just come into international cricket. I faintly remember the 92 world cup when I innocently asked an elder relative that if India will win the cup if they defeated Newzealand, as they were winning all the league matches. Like every other spectator at the Eden Gardens, I was angry after the 96 WC Semi Final, and thought will never watch cricket again. 99 was nothing better. 2003 gave us hope, excited us, but only to be left high and dry. The less we talk about 2007 , the better it is.  Harsha once said 2007 was the WC which never happened for Indians (and Pakistanis).As I try to recollect that six from 2011 I have started to choke again.  Somehow after that match I got a feeling that he always knows what to do and when to do, to win the match. It seemed like He was always in control. It always seemed that He always wins the matches He wants to .

Well ofcourse test cricket was a different game altogether. He did not look to have the same control when travelling overseas and everybody knows that, the stats suggests the same. The reason can be many and there is no point discussing it. The bottom line is He is the one to blame for all the debacles. He once said in a press conference , if there is a win , it is the team’s win and if there’s a loss it is the Captain’s fault. I absolutely agree with this. But then you are as good as your team. And when you say from behind the wicket as Sir bowls a bad ball “Bolega to udhar Pujara ko usi ke liye rakha hai, taali bajane ke liye nahi hai” or “tu daal hi galat raha hai” when Ashwin keeps bowling wrong line clearly showed the bowlers not bowling what He wants them to bowl. As I said reasons can be many, but to move on is life. May be Virat would prove to be a better captain overseas, may be Saha a better keeper batsman in test, may be we will get another better finisher may be we will win another WC but for today and for next few years He would be the BEST we saw.

Few years from now when my son starts watching cricket and hopefully love it as much as I do I will tell him stories about Him. I’ll tell him how Joginder Sharma was given the last over , how he hit a mammoth 183, how he hit Shoaib Akthar all around the park  to score 148 in Faisalabad, how he got run out on 99 with smallest margin possible and how he hit his first double century batting with the tail. Every day It will be a new story with Him in the main lead and I’ll never have to cook up stories. 

In couple of months from now when India starts defending the cup , he will have nothing left to prove, but I know he will still take it to the last ball and will win it for India. And if He hits that extra special  6 again…. I’ll be High on MSD forever.